Fox Soccer Channel Broadcasts
The USL on FSC schedule shifts to Sunday for the next two weeks and will feature the Charleston Battery playing host to Montreal at 7:00 pm ET on Sunday, September 27. The following week, the regular season champion Portland Timbers will play host to the lowest remaining playoff seed at 7:00 pm ET Sunday, October 4.

The playoffs will conclude with the USL-1 Championship Series Saturday, October 11 and Saturday, October 17. Both games will air on Fox Soccer Channel.

PORTLAND, OR -- The Portland Timbers have signed defender Quavas Kirk for the 2010 season, it was announced today pending league and USSF approval. A five-year veteran, Kirk marks the Timbers’ first free-agent signing for the upcoming campaign.

Kirk, 21, played in 15 matches with the Minnesota Thunder in 2009, and was a two-time USL First Division Team of the Week selection. Prior to joining Minnesota, Kirk spent four seasons in Major League Soccer with the Los Angeles Galaxy (2005-07) and D.C. United (2008).

“Quavas has all of the attributes we are looking for in a player,” said Gavin Wilkinson, Timbers general manager and head coach. “While he is still learning the trade as a defender, we are excited to work with him and feel he has the necessary tools to help us compete at the highest levels. As a young player, he is extremely versatile and has tremendous experience.”

A native of Aurora, Ill., Kirk began his professional career at the age of 17 when he was drafted in the third round of the 2005 MLS SuperDraft by the Galaxy. In three seasons in Los Angeles, he played in 33 matches and logged two assists. Kirk was traded to D.C. United in advance of the 2008 season. He appeared in 10 games for United and aided in the club’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup-championship run.

Design goal for Portland's PGE Park's future in Major League Soccer:
Old school is cool

It won't have the sparkle of 4-year-old Toyota Park outside Chicago or brand-new Red Bull Arena outside New York City. But the people remodeling PGE Park hope to send a message to the city and beyond when the stadium becomes a Major League Soccer venue next year: Old school is cool.
But Timbers officials say 84-year-old PGE Park carries that intimate, quirky, familiar vibe that attaches to other venerable houses of sport like those for baseball's Boston Red Sox or football's Green Bay Packers.

"We want to be the Fenway Park of Major League Soccer. We want to be the Lambeau Field of Major League Soccer," said Mike Golub, who in March became the chief operating officer of the Portland Timbers

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Timbers today unveiled their official new crest and colors as the team’s countdown to its inaugural Major League Soccer season in 2011 continues. The historic unveiling was conducted before a spirited crowd gathered for the 2010 World Cup group-play opener between the United States and England at Director Park in downtown Portland on Saturday afternoon.

The team will keep its historic name – the Timbers – as it makes its ascent to MLS in 2011; the new primary mark embodies this monumental move to top-flight professional soccer, while prominently carrying forward elements of the team’s considerable history and paying tribute to the heritage and traditions that led to Portland becoming “Soccer City USA.”

ESPN2 to air expansion coin flip at All-Star
Portland and Vancouver to find out who picks No. 1 in SuperDraft

HOUSTON -- The Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps may be several months away from officially joining MLS, but the expansion clubs will be right in the middle of the action at the All-Star Game festivities on Wednesday -- during halftime of the match between the MLS All-Stars and Manchester United.

That's when a coin toss will take place to determine which of the two clubs gets the first pick among eight different MLS player acquisition procedures.

ESPN2 will carry the coin toss during halftime of its All-Star coverage. Timbers head coach and general manager Gavin Wilkinson and Whitecaps director of professional teams Greg Anderson will join MLS Executive Vice President Todd Durbin for the event.

On August 11, the two clubs will then take turns picking among the eight player mechanisms below, with each team claiming the No. 1 ranking in the specific player acquisition method they select. The winner of Wednesday's coin toss goes first.

The rumors finally became reality on Tuesday as the Portland Timbers named former Houston Dynamo assistant John Spencer as their new manager ahead of their first MLS expansion season in 2011. He will be officially introduced at a press event on Wednesday.

His first order of business will come in a couple of weeks as he works with Timbers technical director Gavin Wilkinson to select the MLS player-selection mechanisms in which the club will seek priority over fellow expansion club Vancouver Whitecaps.

The 39-year-old former Scotland international is keenly familiar with MLS after playing four seasons with the Colorado Rapids. Spencer, an ex-MLS All-Star, then joined the Dynamo in 2006 as an assistant and helped the club to back-to-back MLS Cup titles in 2006 and 2007.

Before arriving in MLS, Spencer played 14 seasons of professional soccer in Scotland and England with clubs like Chelsea, Everton and Rangers.

Spencer left the Dynamo on July 13 with rumors swirling that he was set to be named Portland’s first MLS head coach. In the meantime, his post with the Dynamo was assumed by MLS veteran Steve Ralston.

ESPN2 to air expansion coin flip at All-Star
Portland and Vancouver to find out who picks No. 1 in SuperDraft

HOUSTON -- The Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps may be several months away from officially joining MLS, but the expansion clubs will be right in the middle of the action at the All-Star Game festivities on Wednesday -- during halftime of the match between the MLS All-Stars and Manchester United.

That's when a coin toss will take place to determine which of the two clubs gets the first pick among eight different MLS player acquisition procedures.

ESPN2 will carry the coin toss during halftime of its All-Star coverage. Timbers head coach and general manager Gavin Wilkinson and Whitecaps director of professional teams Greg Anderson will join MLS Executive Vice President Todd Durbin for the event.

On August 11, the two clubs will then take turns picking among the eight player mechanisms below, with each team claiming the No. 1 ranking in the specific player acquisition method they select. The winner of Wednesday's coin toss goes first.

The Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps took part in an Expansion Priority Draft on Monday and the result saw the Whitecaps choose the option of having the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 MLS Draft.

Portland will pick second in the MLS Draft and will have the second pick in each round of the draft while the Whitecaps will have the top pick.

Vancouver chose having the top pick in the 2011 draft over a variety of other roster building mechanisms, including having the top pick in the MLS expansion draft. The Portland Timbers will have that distinction, giving Timbers head coach John Spencer the first crack at players left available by the existing 16 MLS teams.

Timbers gain sponsor for jerseys
PORTLAND, Ore. -- When the Portland Timbers join Major league Soccer next season, their jerseys will be sponsored by Alaska Airlines.

The Timbers announced the new title sponsor for their MLS kits on Thursday at Portland International Airport. Terms of the multiyear deal were not revealed.

The Alaska Airlines logo will be displayed prominently on the jerseys, much like the Seattle Sounders have "XBOX 360" on their kits.

The airline will also partner with the Timbers' community fund on youth-based fitness and educational initiatives, as well as donate 25 tickets to each game to area kids. The company will also be the presenting sponsor for all MLS Timbers youth soccer camps.

Last night's 1-0 win over Puerto Rico was an end of an era at PGE Park, as the stadium will be renovated for MLS next year, and will have a new name. Construction on the stadium will start next week, so Timbers home playoff games will be at Merlo Field at the University of Portland, or at Hillsboro Stadium.
Here are some photos, which was a very memorable evening with another sold out crowd of over 15,000. The sunflower theme was the idea of Timber Jim, which goes back to the Timbers Army singing of "You are my sunshine" which is in honor of his daughter who was killed in an auto accident several years ago, the theme was used to honor the team for this event.

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